Reflections of a Cat's Eye
by BubbleFairy03
Summary: Royed.AU. Edward's life isn't that great. His mom died, he got sent to the palace with his brother to be a slave, and now he's stuck having to deal with Prince Roy everyday. However, sometimes love can grow, even where it's forbidden. HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_Once, there existed two continents, separated by an ocean. Among the continents, there were three kingdoms. The western continent was ruled entirely by the Kingdom of Ishbala, while the eastern continent was divided by two kingdoms. To the north laid the Kingdom of Amestris. To the south, the Kingdom of Shambala. For a while, the three kingdoms existed in harmony among one another. However, it wasn't long before differences and religion began to play a larger role in each of the kingdoms, and war was declared._

_Because of the war, Shambala and Amestris forged an alliance, and, despite their differences, worked together to defeat Ishbala. _

_However, Ishbala was a large kingdom, and they were desperate to win. _

_It was a tough battle for Shambala and Amestris. Desperate for men to fight, Amestris sent their youngest prince onto the battle field, and Shambala even went as far as to send out their only prince, and heir to the throne. The two princes were strong in battle, and the prince of Shambala was particularly intelligent. _

_During the battle, the two met in battle and through the fighting, forged a friendship, both of them ignorant to the other's social status. _

_But, one day, the two got wind that the King of Shambala had been assassinated by an Ishbalan spy. The prince was heartbroken, but he collected himself and told his friend: "I'm afraid I must leave the battle, and return to my home."_

_The other prince responded: "Listen, I understand your king has just died, but the fight is not over. I doubt he would want you to give up."_

"_You don't understand, my dear friend. The king is my father, and I am the only heir to the throne. I must return, and lead my kingdom to reclaim peace."_

_The prince was shocked by the news, but quickly composed himself. He revealed to his friend that he too was a prince, the youngest prince of Amestris. Before they parted ways, the two agreed that they would let their respective lands know of their meeting. The two men had noticed a divide among the troops, and they hoped that the knowledge of their friendship would help ensure the people that the alliance was strong, and that they could trust in their companions. _

_They were right. _

_The new king returned home, and the peoples' opinions of the violent Amestrisans changed, once they discovered that their king's best friend was prince to the kingdom. _

_The people of Amestris' opinion for the peaceable Shambalans also improved when they heard the news. _

_With this new bright outlook, the two kingdoms defeated the Ishbalans. _

_However, no spoils of war were taken. The Kingdom of Shambala didn't think it was necessary to take more from Ishbala, after so many lives had already been lost. The Kingdom of Amestris didn't hold such idealistic views, but they agreed not to take any spoils, out of fear of hurting the alliance. _

_Unfortunately, the war had cost both continents a great deal, and because of the generosity of the Shambalans, both Amestris and Shambala suffered from a lack of food and money. Because of the generous attitude of the people, Shambala did well though. The people helped each other out in their time of need and only took what was absolutely necessary. It wasn't long before prosperity started to rise. Amestris on the other hand, wasn't as generous. Many people didn't feel obliged to help their neighbors and only thought of themselves. Instead of working hard, the country simply took away from the slaves to feed their people. _

_This brings us to the largest difference between Shambala and Amestris. While Shambala was a peaceful land with no discrimination, Amestris was home to slavery. However, slavery wasn't determined by social status, heritage, or skin color. Instead, it was determined by the color of your hair. The only people who were slaves, were blonds. _

_But, because of the war, many slaves were thrown out of their owners' homes and if luck was on their side, they might start a peaceful life of their own, free of slavery. The only place in Amestris that continued to have slaves was the palace, where the King of Amestris lived with his two sons._

-------------

Edward yawned as he walked down the halls of the palace. He was to report to the Grand Dining Room to help set up for breakfast. He was going to arrive a bit early, but he didn't care. He hadn't been able to sleep, something he wasn't accustomed to. Aru and Winry were still asleep, so, not knowing what else to do with himself, he wrote a brief note (his writing skills weren't that good) explaining that he had gone to work early, then stuck it the pocket of his brother's day clothes, where he would find it.

He started to raise his hand to wave when he saw Natalie, a young girl who stayed in the same sleeping chambers as himself, Aru and Winry, appear around the corner, but quickly lowered it when he saw the guard behind her.

He tried to keep his gaze firmly on the ground as they passed, but he couldn't help but give a quick glace. The quick helpless grin Natalie gave him caused a pain to whelm up in his chest, but he ignored it and fixed his gaze on the ground again.

"You."

Edward froze in his tracks and slowly turned around. His heart sank. The guard pushing Natalie along had stopped and was now regarding him.

"Yes sir?"

"You know where the bathing chambers are?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Abandon whatever duties you have now and go draw up the prince's bath."

Ed blinked. "With all due respect sir, isn't that a woma-

"I just gave you an order, now shut up and go!" The guard turned back around and pushed Natalie roughly in the back. "Move it wench. I don't have all day to deal with you."

The two continued down the hall, leaving Ed to stand there and register his order.

Draw the prince's bath? What the hell? That was a **girl's** job! He wasn't a girl dammit!

He muttered darkly under his breath and continued down the hall, changing his straight route to include a turn down the next corridor to the right, toward the bathing chambers.

Once he calmed down he began to think about the order more clearly. Natalie was the one to usually draw the princes' bathes, he knew because he had heard her confiding about it to Winry before. Though, he wasn't paying much attention, so all he knew was that one prince was a jerk, and the other a 'gentleman' as she put it. Edward didn't really know himself, he'd never seen either prince, despite belonging to the palace for 11 years.

Bringing his mind back on topic, he came to the conclusion that Natalie had done something to get herself in trouble while drawing one of the princes' bathes, probably nothing but hey, it was impossible to be a slave with perfect behavior. She has then been dragged away to be punished for her wrong doings and now they lacked someone to draw the remaining prince's bath. So, the guard dragging Natalie away had sent the first slave he saw, Edward, to go draw the prince's bath, so that he wouldn't have to go all the way down to the slave's chambers to wake some girl up to do it.

Ed nodded to himself, pleased with his conclusion. It wasn't that the guard had mistaken him for a girl, he was just being lazy.

Edward walked into the bathing chambers and stood uncertainly next to a maid folding towels. The maid looked up, finally taking notice of him. "Oh!" she exclaimed, putting down the towel she had in her hands. "You must be the replacement sent to draw the prince's bath. Chris sure was speedy about getting another slave."

Ed smiled lightly to himself. He had been right, the guard, now identified as Chris, had just been lazy.

The maid looked him up and down then shook her head. "He certainly could have picked better though. You have a pretty face honey, but I'm afraid those limbs just won't do."

Ed ignored the insult to his metal limbs, he was used to it, but his cheeks burned from the name 'honey' that the woman had given him, and even more so for the comment she made about his face.

The maid sighed and turned around to rummage through a closet. When she faced Ed again, she was holding a long, light pink dress. "Here, put this on. This should cover that horrible arm and leg of yours."

Edward started to get the feeling that this maid thought he was a girl. . .

"Ma'am, I-

For the second time that day he was interrupted. "Oh, don't fret sweetheart. Just don't use your right hand. The prince will never know."

"Ah, ma'am, you don't-

And again. Interrupted. "Oh, oh! I'm sorry dear! You must be shy! I wouldn't want to undress in front of anyone either, with an arm and leg like that. Don't worry. You go ahead and put that on and I'll just turn myself around. Promise I won't look."

The maid handed him to dress and, true to her word, promptly turned around.

"Ahh. . ." Ed sighed, staring at the garment in his hands. An order was an order. . .besides, if they let his keep the dress, maybe he could give it to Winry or something. That might make her happy. . .

And so, Edward swallowed his pride and threw off the rags he was wearing. (All the while making sure the maid was staying true to her word not to look.) He pulled the frilly pink dress over his head, and after deciding the extremely uncomfortable outfit was as comfortable as it was ever going to get, announce he was finished.

The maid turned around and clapped her hands together. "Aw, you look adorable. Now, let me just fix your hair up a bit. . ."

The maid stepped behind him and pulled the old rubber band out of hair and took out his braid. "Hand me that brush would you doll?"

Ed gritted his teeth, getting tired of her cutesy nicknames for him, but kept his mouth shut and obediently handed her the dark pink brush lying on the counter next to the towels she had been folding.

The woman took it from him and ran it through his hair until she was satisfied. She walked back to the counter and set it down, then examined him.

Judging from the large smile that spread across her face, Ed guessed she was pleased with what she saw.

"Much better." she said. "Good to get those nasty limbs out of the way. Now, take these. . ." She handed him a fluffy white towel, a bottle of shampoo, and a bar of soap. "And remember, the hot water tab is on the right, cold on the left. The young prince typically prefers extra hot baths, but make sure it's not scorching."

Ed blinked, then nodded a little uncertainly.

The maid rolled her eyes. "Well, don't just stand there." She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him gently in the direction of a door on the right side of the room. "Right through there. Go on now."

Edward nodded and went into the next room, being careful with his steps. How could women wear these things and **like** it? He could barely walk in the damn thing.

He sat down next to the tub, glad that the danger of tripping was now passed, and examined it.

'I didn't know tubs this big existed.' he thought, looking at the beautiful tub before him. He sighed, the reality of his situation starting to dawn on him a bit.

Here he was, in a frilly pink dress, about to draw a bath for some stupid pompous prince that he'd never even seen before.

He turned on the water and adjusted it to his liking. Who cared about what the prince liked, it was just a bath. His tastes in temperature would have to do.

Once the tub was full, he turned off the water tabs and dried his hands on the dress.

Then he sat and he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

About half a minute later he decided that the prince was taking too long and if he didn't do something, he'd die. Of boredom.

He shifted a bit, looking at the tub out of the corner of his eye. He leaned over the side and peered in, taking notice of how clean the water was.

He'd never seen water that clean before. . .

He put his hands on the edge of the tub to support himself as he leaned down closer to the water.

It even smelled clean. . .

He reached into the tub and cupped some of the water into his palm, then watched it seep through his fingers, and return to the bath with a gentle splash. He smiled and leaned in further, now cupping the water with both hands, and watching it run out. He cupped the water again and this time let it go, the resulting splash it made got his face a little wet. He laughed and cupped the water once more, this time holding it and looking at his distorted reflection.

'I wish I could show Aru this. He would appreciate water as clear as this. . .' thought Ed, as he stared as his reflection, dreaming of a land where he and his brother could be happier, and drink and bathe in water as clean as this whenever they wished. . .

"But that could never happen. . ." he whispered. He let the water seep once more out of his hands and back into the tub.

"Ahem."

Edward snapped his attention to the left and upon seeing the towel clad man in the doorway, promptly turned a light shade of red and placed his right hand in his lap, then placed his left on top of it.

He would be fine, he just needed to breathe. Breathe, focus, and respond.

"Hello, sir. Your bath is ready."

He mentally kicked himself for pointing out the obvious. Such an act of stupidity would surely result in. . .

"Yes, thank you."

The man strode toward him until he was at Ed's side. Already tall, the prince seemed to tower over the short, kneeling Edward.

Ed bit the inside of his cheek. He didn't like tall people.

"You can turn around if you want to."

Edward blinked twice. ". . .eh?"

The prince smiled in an amused way that irked Ed to no end.

"The maid in the other room said you were 'adorably shy', so I thought you'd be more comfortable if you kept your back turned while I bathed. Or perhaps if you're too embarrassed, you'd like to leave?"

Ed blushed in embarrassment and scooted around in a circle until his back was facing the prince. "I'll stay" he muttered. "Sir." he added on after a pause.

He heard the prince chuckle. "Very well." Following this statement was the sound of a towel dropping next to him and someone entering the water.

Edward's cheeks flared. 'Why am I getting so flustered? It's not like I haven't seen people naked before. We all have to change in front of each other in the slave's chambers. . .'

'It's because he's a stranger! I'm such an idiot! There's some strange man I've never met before taking a bath behind me!' he thought, answering his own musings. 'And I'm in a dress! I should have left when he offered and just taken the beating. Anything would be better than this. . .'

"Hey, are you okay?"

Edward jumped slightly, the prince's voice startling him. He quickly nodded his head without turning around.

"You sure? You seem awfully tense. . ."

"I'm fine." Ed said quietly. He didn't want to talk to this stranger. He just wanted to return to the slave chambers. Wait for Aru and Winry to return from work, then talk to them until they all had to leave to do other duties. That was what he wanted to do. That was all.

-------------

'She's got a lovely voice.'

Roy tried to scold himself for such thoughts. He was supposed to be comforting this poor girl. She was acting like a hare trapped by hunters.

But no, hard as he tried, his actions held the underlying greed of wanting to hear this girl's voice more clearly. It sounded so lovely, but so far, all she'd done was whisper and mumble.

He sighed. Maybe if he kept talking to her, she would loosen up? It was kinda awkward taking a bath with a tense, frightened, teenage girl about a foot or two away from you.

"Are you new around here? The palace I mean?"

The girl shifted. "No, sir."

Roy's eyebrows rose in surprise. He was sure she'd say 'yes.'

"Really? How long have you been here?"

A pause. Then a soft reply: "11 years."

Now Roy was really surprised. 11 years?

"How come I've never seen you around?"

The girl turned her head a bit so she could look at his face and Roy couldn't help but stare into the one eye visible to him. Never in his life had he'd seen gold eyes before.

"There are plenty of slaves belonging to the palace that you've never seen, sir."

Roy's eyes narrowed. He didn't know about this. "Why?"

The girl didn't say anything.

"Miss?"

The girl flinched when he said this, though he had no idea why, but nonetheless she answered him.

"I'm not certain sir."

A silence fell between them as Roy considered her words. Plenty of slaves he'd never seen? How could that be? He lived here! He'd had to have seen all of them at least once. . .

He blinked as his vision was suddenly penetrated by a transparent bottle, filled with a gel-like substance.

"You'll want to wash your hair, sir."

He turned to his left and saw that the girl was now facing him, and it was she who was holding the bottle out in front of him.

"Yes, I would. Thank you." he took the bottle from her and she immediately placed her hand back on her lap.

'She's as tense as ever, but hopefully the fact that she's facing me means she's not as frightened as before.' Roy thought, as he poured some of the bottle's contents into his hand and created a lather.

"So. . ." Roy racked his brains for something to talk about as he washed his hair. ". . .why isn't the usual girl here? Natalie. Don't think I'm complaining, I'm just curious."

The girl adverted her eyes and shrugged. "I'm not sure sir. I wasn't given any details, I was just told to come here in her stead."

Roy sighed. Every answer this girl gave was so. . .mechanical.

The girl set a bar on the tub's ledge. "You'll be needing this too, sir."

Roy nodded. "Hand me that bucket over there, would you?" he said, pointing to a bucket in the corner.

The girl looked to where he was pointing, then stood up and walked over. Before she reached the bucket though, she tripped, nearly falling on her face. However, she managed to save herself, and picked up the bucket, bringing it back to him more slowly and carefully.

"Are you alright?" he asked, smirking in amusement.

She made a light grunting sound, then nodded and handed him the wooden bucket.

He took it from her and filled it with water from the tub, then dumped it over his head, rinsing out the shampoo. "I'm guessing that dress is what made you trip? It seems to be a bit large for you."

If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn the timid young girl was glaring at him after that comment.

He took the soap off the ledge and started to wash his upper body. "You don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

The girl blinked. Once. Twice. Then he heard her gasp, and watched her eyes become as wide as saucers.

She started to shake her head a bit rapidly.

It took Roy a few moments to realize what conclusion she had come to and he smacked his forehead, getting soap on it in the process.

"No, no. I'm not asking you to strip. I just meant, next time. You can wear your normal clothes next time, whatever you're comfortable in." he said, trying to calm her down.

She sighed and put her hands over her heart, then said in a surprisingly strong voice: "Gods! For a moment I thought you meant you want-" She stopped talking and sat up rigid, clasping her hands over her mouth and staring at him with wide eyes.

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Go on. You can finish." he said, trying to prompt her along.

She shook her head, then bowed down so deeply her forehead touched the floor. "I shouldn't have spoken to you in such a casual manner, sir. Please forgive me for stepping outside my boundaries."

Roy sighed. This was perhaps the most uptight slave he'd ever met!

"It's okay. I don't mind. In fact, I prefer your casual speak, so go ahead and get up. You don't have to bow to me. Especially when I'm in such a lowly state." he said, referencing his lack of clothing.

She sat up straight once more, and nodded. "Yes sir."

Roy shook his head. This girl was impossible. . ."Anyway. As I was saying, tomorrow when you come, you can wear whatever you want. No need to wear some frilly dress that's too big for you just because a maid told you too." He stopped and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Are you even going to be here tomorrow?"

The young slave got a comical look on her face that made Roy bite his cheek to keep from laughing. She shrugged uncertainly. "I haven't been informed about whether I'm to report here tomorrow or not sir."

Roy nodded, not quite sure what had caused her to have that look, but he brushed it aside.

"Hmm, well, anyway, what were you doing when I-

A feminine voice that he recognized as the maid's came from the door, interrupting him."Your highness! Your father is summoning you! Prince Roy?"

Roy sighed loudly. "Yes, yes, tell him I'm coming. Thank you." He stood up, the slave girl made a slight squeaking noise as he did so and clenched her eyes shut, and picked up the towel next to her. He wrapped it around his waist, not bothering to dry himself. "Sorry about that, I wasn't thinking. You can open your eyes now."

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. Again, Roy was struck by how odd her eye color was, but he didn't have time to think about that now.

"I'm afraid I must go see my father. I hope to get the chance to talk to you again." He turned to walk away, but the girl grabbed his hand, holding him back. He turned back around, surprised.

"Yes?"

She bit her bottom lip, then reached for a washcloth lying by the tub and dipped it in the tub. Roy raised an eyebrow as she wrung out the water then stood up. "Listen, I don't really have time to-" he stopped mid-sentence when she stood on her tiptoes, placing her left hand on his shoulder to support herself. Then she wiped his forehead off, her right hand oddly concealed by the cloth as she did so.

Roy's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink. "What are you. . .?"

She let go of his shoulder then stepped back and touched her forehead with her left hand. "Soap. From when you smacked yourself. . ."

Roy blinked and touched his forehead, then it dawned on him. He had gotten soap on his forehead when he had smacked himself for making the girl think she had to strip. She had just been washing it off for him. He smiled gently. "Thank you."

She nodded. "You're most welcome sir."

"Prince Roy! Your father will grow impatient if you-

"I'm coming!" Roy yelled toward the door. He muttered darkly under his breath then turned back to the slave. "I'm afraid I must go, but before I do, would you mind telling me your name?"

-------------

Edward bit his bottom lip. If he told his real name, then the prince would know he was a boy, but if he didn't. . .

"Elric. Elric Edo." he said, picking the first thing to come to mind. Edo was a bit of a nickname for him, the same way 'Aru' was a bit of a nickname for Al. Their mother had been raised by a Shambalan, and as a result, had a bit of an accent. She had always called Edward and Alphonse, Edo and Aru. Nowadays, they called each other Edo and Aru, as did Winry and their other chamber-mates, who were simply mimicking them.

He bit down on his lip again. 'I hope it sounds feminine enough. . .'

The prince nodded. "Elric Edo. I'll remember that." He then turned around and walked out the door.

Edward could faintly hear him conversing with the maid, and imagined he could make out what they were saying if he listened well enough, but he didn't bother. It wasn't any of his business.

He sighed and walked back to the tub, reaching in and pulling out the drain, watching the water disappear down the hole in a slight vortex.

He put the rest of the room back into order, then grabbed the towel the prince had originally brought with him and left the room.

"I swear, for a prince, he certainly doesn't care about fashion."

Ed blinked as he exited the room, only to find the maid from earlier hustling about, muttering to herself. When she caught sight of him she sailed over and gripped his shoulders, pushing him toward the counter she had been at when she met him.

"I tell you, that prince has NO sense of fashion. At all! Look at this dear." She let go of his shoulders and pulled open a cabinet overtop the counter. She reached inside and pulled out something red, which she threw at Ed.

Ed, surprised at the sudden action, barely managed to catch the piece of material. He fingered it, it felt nice under his fingers, but he didn't know what it was.

"Take a look at it. It's pure silk, and absolutely beautiful."

Edward held the material out in front of him, revealing it to be a shirt. A very ugly shirt. He cringed.

"I know! I cringed too when I though of what the king will say! Can you imagine, not wearing this? I told the prince to wear it, but no! He picked that dreadful blue one." She huffed and took the shirt from Ed, folding it and putting it back in the cabinet. "His majesty will probably faint when he sees that dreadful thing Prince Roy is wearing." She mumbled a bit to herself and started putting things on the counter away. She grabbed the towel Ed had slung over his arm and tossed it in a bin to be washed later.

Ed just stood there and watched, waiting patiently.

Finally she seemed to notice he was still there. "Dear? Is there something I can help you with?" She gasped as realization played across her feature. Her hand formed a fist and she brought it down into her open palm. "You need your clothes back, don't you? Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart. I just got so wrapped up with things, I wasn't even thinking. Hold on, I'll find them for you." She began digging through another cabinet and quickly found his clothes. "Here you are."she said, handing them to Ed. "Oh right, you're shy." She turned her back to him. "Just hand me the dress when you're done."

"Yes ma'am." Ed said, slightly disappointed. Though, now that he thought about it, Winry probably wouldn't have wanted it anyway. Natalie or Sofia might have though.

He pulled the garment over his head and held it out with his metal arm so the maid would see it, but not his body. She took it without turning around and placed it in the same bin the towel had been thrown in earlier.

Edward slipped on his clothes, which consisted of an off-white, almost tan, baggy, T-shirt and loose shorts of the same color. "Okay, I'll be leaving now miss." he said, turning to head out into the hallway.

But, before he even got a foot through the door, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on. Before you go, I just wanted to tell you'll need to report here earlier tomorrow. There are two princes after all. Be here around sunrise to prepare."

The color drained from Ed's face, and he made the same comical face he made when the prince had brought up coming back the next day. Luckily, he wasn't facing the maid, and she couldn't see his expression.

"I didn't realize I was coming back tomorrow. . ."

"Of course you are hon. Somebody has to draw the princes' bathes. Now run along. I'm sure you have other duties to do." She gently nudged him out the door, closing it behind him.

Edward stood in the hallway, blinking. "Heh, hehe, I have to come back." He made a tiny whimpering noise, then hung his head and walked back to the slave chambers.

Tomorrow would be hell. Not only did he have to deal with this 'Prince Roy' from today again, but he'd have to deal with another prince as well.

He sighed heavily, slumping his shoulders. "And the worse part is, I have to pretend to be a girl. . .again." he mumbled darkly as he turned the corner.

The allure to bang his head against the palace wall was surprisingly strong as he thought 'I just had to wake up early today!'

-------------

Well, what did you think minna-san? I apoligize for any mistakes and OOCness. It's hard to keep people in character in an AU setting where so much is different. But, for all you freaking out about Edo being shy, don't worry. He's actually just being uptight. :) So don't freak.  
Well, I know this story isn't very good, but I'm writing it for fun and my friends have been supportive of it, so I decided to post it. Leave a review and let me know what you think, okay? Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews minna! You all give me the drive to write more::hug:  
I'd like to thank my best friend, darkfairyofdoom, for beta-ing this story for me. A hug goes out to her!

* * *

**BANG!**! 

Edward slammed the door open and stormed into his slave chamber.

"Aru, you won't–"

He blinked, realizing he was talking to the walls.

"I guess everyone is working. . ." he mumbled to himself.

He sighed and walked back out of the stone chamber, letting the door fall close behind him.

'I guess I'll just go to the laundry room. I'll probably be early, but better to have to work extra than get caught roaming the halls and being forced to draw someone else's bath!' he thought sourly.

He reached the laundry room, and to his surprise, saw other slaves doing work. "What. . .?"

"You! By the door! What are you doing here?"

A guard stormed over to him. "Don't you have duties to attend to?"

Edward had to keep himself from glaring as the man towered over him. "This is my duty sir. Breakfast then laundry. I just–"

He was cut off as the guard's hand made sharp contact with his face.

"How dare you get here late! Now get to work you little mongrel!" barked the guard as he shoved Edward forward.

Ed nodded hastily. "Yes sir." he replied as he grabbed a basket of laundry and walked swiftly to the nearest vacant washing tub.

He put the basket down and walked around the tub, then started pumping water into it. Once it was full, he placed a washing board inside and started cleaning.

He glanced at the guard that had smacked him out of the corner of his eye. He was talking to another guard. Then, to Ed's horror, the guard pointed to him. The other guard looked toward where his companion was pointing then nodded. They parted ways.

Ed bit his bottom lip and started washing the clothes harder. 'I was late! Here I thought I'd be early and I was late! It's all that prince's fault! Why can't he just draw his own bath? Why does he need a bath every day anyway? **I** don't take a bath every day, and **I'm** fine!'

He grumbled to himself as he wrung out the shirt he was washing, then put it in a basket. He grabbed another article of clothing, a dress, and started washing again. He gritted his teeth when he realized what he was washing.

'Stupid. Damn. Female. Clothing! I hate it!'

He started scrubbing harder, narrowing his malice-filled eyes at the outfit. Today was not a good day.

"Are you okay?"

Ed looked to his right and saw a young boy sitting there.

"I'm fine." he said, wringing out the dress and putting in the basket with the shirt. He grabbed another shirt to wash.

"What did you get hit for?" the boy asked.

"I was late." he said a bit angrily. Wasn't it obvious?

"You weren't that late. . ."

Edward shrugged. "Since when did that matter?" he asked rhetorically, a scowl still on his face.

The boy was silent and Ed assumed the strange conversation had come to a close. He kept washing until the laundry basket was empty. He picked up the other basket, filled with the clothes he had washed, and stood up. He started walking to the other side of the room, vaguely noticing the boy that had spoken to him was now following him.

He set the basket down with a group of others sitting on the floor by the wall. Next to them, a young slave girl was standing on a stepladder, leaning out the window. Outside there was a clothing line on a pulley, so every day someone would have to lean out the window and put clothes on the line as they came so they would dry properly. To Ed, it seemed like a very boring job. Not that cleaning the clothes wasn't boring too.

"I just set it here?"

Ed looked down and saw the boy holding his basket of clean laundry.

He nodded, realization dawning on him.

Ed waited as the boy put down the basket, then headed back to the front of the room to grab another basket of laundry. The boy followed him.

Once he was back to his tub, he sat down and started to wash, as did the boy.

"You're new here, aren't you?" Ed asked.

"Uh-huh."

Ed nodded, the pieces falling together. It wasn't that unusual really, he'd had children follow him around on his duties before, and they followed Aru around like chicks following a mother hen. What else were they to do? Children didn't know what to do, and it wasn't like the guards told them how to do the work. He had had the same problem himself when he was younger, though he had never followed anyone around like some children did.

"Does everyone get hit if they're late?"

Edward turned, breaking himself off from his thoughts, and faced the boy. "What?"

"Does everyone get hit if they're late?" repeated the boy.

"Oh. Yeah, they do. But don't worry." he added, seeing the solemn expression on his face. "Just do everything the guards tell you and you should be fine."

The boy nodded and started cleaning, not saying anything more on the matter.

The hours passed slowly, as they always did with laundry duty, but eventually the job was finished, and all the slaves were to either go back to their chambers or onto another job, depending on their schedule.

Edward silently wished the boy luck and although he knew that the quicker he got his first beating, the quicker he would learn to adapt to life as a slave, he couldn't help but hope that any mistakes he made would go unnoticed for at least a little while.

He walked toward the door with all the others, noticing the boy was trying his best to keep close to him, but when he reached the door someone grabbed his shoulder and roughly pulled him aside.

"You're easy to pick out with those limbs of yours, did you know that?"

Ed looked up and found himself face to face with the guard that had been looking at him earlier. The guard grabbed his good arm in a painfully tight grip and dragged him through a door, into another room. He latched the door behind him. "Why were you late?" he asked, not letting go of Ed's arm.

"I was given a new duty sir." Edward said, averting his eyes.

The guard's grip tightened. "This concerns me, how?"

"The time my duty ends clashes with the time laundry duty begins sir." he said, fighting the urge to wince. His arm would definitely be bruised.

"Well, I guess tomorrow you'd better run, shouldn't you?"

"Yes sir."

The guard let go of his arm and stood regarding him. For a moment, Ed almost thought he was going to get off. And why shouldn't he? He had a perfectly valid excuse.

The guard backhanded him across the face, using enough force to knock Ed to the ground.

Ed grimaced and started to pick himself up off the floor. 'Almost forgot. Valid excuses don't matter here.' he thought grimly.

Before he could stand, the guard stepped on his back, pressing him back to the floor.

"You'll run next time, won't you?"

Ed nodded.

The guard bent down, keeping his foot on Ed's back, and grabbed his hair, yanking it so Ed was looking at him.

"You'll run, won't you?" he asked again, spittle flying from his mouth onto Ed's face.

"Yes sir." Edward choked out.

"Good boy." The guard let go of Ed's hair and removed his foot. Edward could feel his eyes piercing through him as he got to his feet.

"You've learned your lesson?"

"Yes sir."

"And if you're late again?"

"If I'm late again, please whip my back until I bleed sir."

The guard nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good, now out of my way." He grabbed Ed's arm and threw him into the wall, then calmly unlatched the door and walked out of the room.

Ed pried himself off the wall and glared at the guard's retreating figure. He left the room in a hurry, and went out into the hallway.

As he walked down the hall, Ed held his automail hand against his swelled cheek, letting the coldness of the metal sooth the pain. Having a metal arm was good for that at least.

---------

"Nii-san!"

Ed gave his little brother a faint smile as he walked into the slave chambers. "Hey Aru."

The younger boy had shot to his feet the moment Ed had entered the room. The others in the room looked up to regard him as well.

"Nii-san, where have you been? I got your note, but Vic said you weren't at work this morning, and I haven't seen you all day! I've been so worried!" he rambled.

"Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine Aru."

"But your face. . ."

Ed rubbed his flesh arm nervously. "It's nothing, just a little bruise."

"Edo, your shoulder is bleeding. . ."

Ed looked at Winry, who had been the one to speak, then gazed down at his flesh shoulder, noticing a small trail of blood running down. He licked his thumb and wiped it off. "No big deal."

A boy sitting in the corner of the room snorted. "Serves you right for being so stupid. Slaves that skip out on work get beat, you know that."

Winry hit him over the head. "You would know about being stupid, wouldn't you Vic? Now shut up. I'm sure Edo had a good reason."

Vic huffed and rubbed his head, glaring silently at her.

"Winry's right. You had a good reason, right Nii-san?" Aru asked as he approached his brother, inspecting the cut on his shoulder.

"I was assigned a new morning job."

Aru instantly broke his gaze away from his brother's shoulder and looked at Ed's face. "A new job?"

Ed nodded and walked over to the far side of the small room and sat down next to Winry, Aru trailing close behind him.

"What kind of new job?" Winry asked, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her arms on them.

"And why did you get beat, if not for ditching work?" asked Vic curiously, leaning forward.

"It wasn't a beating, it was a light scolding. Nothing serious. And it's because I was late to laundry duty. As for my new job, I'm taking over Natalie's job. I guess she messed up or something, where is she by the way?" he asked, silently surrendering his arm to his brother who had noticed the bruise there too.

"I haven't seen her all day." Vic said solemnly as he leaned back against the wall.

"Oh, I-Ow! Watch it Aru."

Aru let go of his arm. "Sorry Nii-san. I didn't realize it was that bad. . ."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's not. So stop worrying, alright?"

"Edo. . ."

"Hmm?" Ed turned to look at Winry. "Yeah?"

"Natalie's job. Didn't she-"

Ed hurriedly clamped his hand over her mouth and leaned toward her. "We'll talk about it later, okay?" he whispered angrily in her ear. The last thing he needed was to get teased by everyone he knew for having to wear a dress and pretend to be a girl. And he would to, Vic was a blabbermouth.

Ed yelped and pulled his hand away. "You bit me!"

"You put your hand over my mouth!"

"But you bit me!"

"Maybe I couldn't breathe!"

"You have a nose!"

Vic sighed heavily as the two bickered with one another. "Of all the people for me to have to live with. And for my whole life!" He threw his arms up in a dramatic gesture of anger.

Aru laughed good-naturally, smiling as he grabbed his brother, holding him back as he went into a rage.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE SHRIMP THAT STAYS INDOORS SO THE WIND WON'T BLOW HIM AWAY?"

"YOU! I'M CALLING YOU A LITTLE SHRIMP THAT STAYS INDOORS SO THE WIND WON'T BLOW HIM AWAY!"

Vic looked wearily at the group as Winry hit Ed over the head, Ed flailed around angrily at her in his brother's grip, and Aru clung to his brother, restraining him, and trying to persuade Ed that hitting girls wasn't right.

Vic sighed. "Geez, and here I thought Edo wouldn't act up much since he was hurt. I'm such an idiot. . ." he mumbled to himself, running a hand through his hair. "Hey guys, as much fun as you all seem to be having, don't you think we'd better get going? Work to do, you know."

---------

The next morning came as swiftly as any other morning. Ed was the first to get up, making himself get up when the sun hit his face instead of simply rolling over and going back to sleep like the others.

He grumbled under his breath and reached around blindly for his clothes, not wanting to open his eyes yet.

"Nii-san?"

Ed opened his eyes and turned around. "Aru? Don't worry, it's not time for you to get up yet. Go back to sleep." he said, turning back around and grabbing his clothes. Assuming Aru had done what he said, he took off the tank top he wore to sleep and threw it aside.

He heard a sigh. "I knew something was wrong. . ."

Ed spun around to face his brother, who was sitting on the floor where he had slept. "Aru, I told you to go back to sleep."

"Nii-san, there's a big bruise on your back." Aru said, ignoring Ed's request.

Ed blinked then looked over his shoulder, attempting to see his back. "Really? I didn't notice."

Aru frowned and threw the thin piece of material that served as his blanket at Ed, hitting him in the face.

Ed caught the blanket as it fell away from his face and glared. "What the heck was that for?" he asked, throwing the blanket back in a half-hearted attempt to hit his little brother.

Aru caught the blanket and pouted. "For lying to me. That's a mean thing to do Nii-san, you know I don't like it."

Ed huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." He turned around and grabbed his shorts, pulling them on.

"Yes you do!" Aru huffed. "Your back hurts, that's why you slept on your stomach last night. You never do that. Why didn't you tell me Nii-san?"

Ed sighed and sat down in front of his brother. "It's no big deal Aru. It happens all the time, you know that."

Aru frowned and looked at Ed pitifully. "But still. . ."

Ed grinned and ruffled Aru's hair, then stood up. "I have to get going." he said, turning away from Aru and walking toward the door.

"Anou, Nii-san?"

Ed turned around at the door. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to do your hair? It was down yesterday too. . ."

Ed's face fell. "Can't. Lost my rubber band."

"Oh. Do you want mine?"

Ed smiled. "Thanks Aru, but I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Besides, you need it more anyway. Your hair is longer than mine."

"I guess so. . ."

"See you later Aru."

"See you Nii-san. Have fun at work." Aru said, plastering a large smile on his face.

Ed glared at him, making Aru giggle, then left the room. Before the door closed he heard Vic groggily complain to Aru about the two of them being so loud.

He had told Winry and Aru about his new job yesterday, when they were cleaning the kitchen. They both seemed to find the idea of him in a frilly dress amusing, though Aru had shown more sympathy than Winry, who didn't even bother to pretend she wasn't laughing.

But despite that, Winry had actually been a good source of information for him. Apparently, Natalie had told her quite a bit about the job.

And quite frankly, the things Winry told him scared him in a way like never before.

He had felt a large wave of gratitude toward Prince Roy when he realized how tremendously generous the prince had been. He still thought he was a jerk, cause you know, he looked like one, but still, the sentiment was there.

He shivered at the thought of doing the things Winry had described. And to make matters worse, he had to deal with both the princes today, and while Prince Roy had been generous enough (or conceited, in Ed's mind it was a strong possibility that the prince just didn't want a disgusting slave to touch him) Ed couldn't be sure what the other prince was like.

He soon came to his destination, standing in the hallway, looking at the all too familiar door from yesterday.

'They should put a sign out front that says "Warning: Hell ahead."' he though bitterly, opening the door and walking inside.

"There you are! I was wondering when you'd get here. Try to be a little more prompt next time dear. Here, put this on."

No sooner had Ed walked into the room he suddenly found in his arms an elegant purple material embroidered at the bottom with dull yellow flower buds.

He watched the maid, the same one as yesterday, buzz about the room, taking care of odds and ends and rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out and putting away things Ed had never even seen before. He unfolded the material to reveal it to be some kind of fancy bathrobe.

He raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless, turned around so his back was facing the maid and started to undress. He slipped the robe on and held it closed, since it didn't have a tie to hold it.

"Ahh, miss? Is this-"

He didn't have time to finish as another piece of material, this one the same dull yellow as the flower buds, was thrown toward him. He managed to catch it barely, then held it up for inspection.

"That's the belt. Put it on, quickly dear, quickly."

Ed messed with it for a bit, trying to put it on correctly. He was pretty sure this thing wasn't a belt, despite what the maid had said. It certainly wasn't like any belt he'd ever seen.

Eventually the maid saw his dilemma and came over, hurriedly helping him put it on, and adjusting the outfit a bit.

When she was finally done, she turned to the counter and grabbed the pink brush she'd used the other day and started fussing with his hair.

After a moment, the maid stood in front of him and looked at him with an appraising eye. "Perfect." she said, turning around and putting the brush back.

Ed touched the back of his head, trying to find out what she'd done. His fingers ran across two sticks.

"What's. . ."

"Oh, don't touch it dear!" the maid cried when she turned around to discover Ed fiddling with his hair. She grabbed his wrists and forced them down. "You'll knock out the chopsticks!"

Ed blinked as the maid turned back around, satisfied that she had kept him from destroying his hair.

"Chopsticks, ma'am? I'm not sure I understand. . ."

She didn't bother turning around. "What don't you understand honey?"

"Chopsticks are eating utensils. . ."

"That's right."

". . ."

Ed silently waited for an answer, but got none. "Ma'am?"

"Yes dear? Here take these." she handed a pile of supplies similar to supplies he was given yesterday, the only difference being the color of the soap.

"Yes." he said, taking the objects presented to him. "Um, about the chopsticks. . ."

The maid sighed, sounding exasperated. "What about them sweetheart?"

"Well. . .why did you put an eating utensil in my hair ma'am? I'm afraid I find it a bit. . .odd."

Actually, he found more than a 'bit odd.' He thought the woman was downright loony.

"They're used as an hair accessory too sweetie. Didn't you know that?" she asked. "No, I suppose you wouldn't, would you?" she said, answering herself before Edward could.

Ed simply raised an eyebrow, doubting her words. Who in their right mind would want to wear chopsticks in their hair? Of all things? Chopsticks weren't even pretty, they were just plain pieces of wood that broke easily.

"Well, don't just stand there all day. Get a move on dear. The prince will be here soon." she pushed his upper back gently, nudging him along.

Ed nodded and walked to the door he had entered yesterday. He reached out to turn the knob and-

"No no. Not in there. The other door hon."

Ed paused to look at her questionably. "But, I went in this room yesterday. . . didn't I?"

"Yes yes, that's the young prince's bathing chamber. The elder prince's is over there."

"Oh." was all he said as he crossed the room to the other door.

"Oh! And the elder prince doesn't like his water as hot as the younger. Just so you know hon." she called out.

"Ah, okay." he called back. He didn't really care, but he thought he should at least say something so she knew he had heard her.

He was a bit curious why the princes needed separate baths. It wasn't like they had to bathe at the same time or anything. And they were brothers, so they shouldn't have any fear of germs or something, though, one of them could have a disease he didn't know about.

Ed opened the door, closing it behind him as he walked inside. He set down the towel and soap he had been given next to the bathtub which, he noted, was basically a replica of the one in the other room. In fact, the whole room was basically a replica of the other.

'What a waste of space and materials.' Ed thought sourly, starting the water. 'Oh well, at least it'll be easy to remember where everything is. . .'

Once he had the water to his tastes, he stood up and walked to the corner of the room, where he found a bucket. He walked back to the tub and filled it with water, knowing from his time with Prince Roy that it would be needed to rinse the prince's hair.

Once it was filled, he set it aside, next to the towel. He sat down crossed-legged next to the pile and waited for the tub to finish filling itself up.

Turning off the water once it had filled and settling back down, this time in a kneeling position (he had found sitting crossed-legged a bit uncomfortable in the tight robe), he sighed and stared down at his lap.

He would have to be careful of his hand again today, luckily the robe he was wearing had large sleeves that would help hide it from view.

'Why the hell am I wearing a robe anyway? I though I was supposed to be wearing a dress?' He sighed. 'Not that I'm complaining. . .' He wriggled around a bit, trying to get comfortable. 'It is a little hot though. . .'

As time passed Ed let his thoughts wander, pondering on what this other prince would be like. So far, all he really knew was that he was older than Prince Roy. Which didn't really help him, seeing as he didn't know how old Prince Roy was.

In the end, he had become so absorbed in his musings that he had failed to notice when another body had entered the room. He remained ignorant even as the person approached him.

Then, suddenly, Ed felt something circle around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides. He visibly stiffened.

"Hey, relax." A voice purred in his ear. "You're new here, aren't you?"

Not trusting his voice, Ed opted to shake his head, though he did so a bit stiffly.

"Really? Well, you're new to the job. I know that much."

Ed opened his mouth to respond, only to discover his voice had abandoned him for the moment.

'What do I do? Is this the prince? What if it's not? Why is he- And why won't he let go? What do I-' Ed's thoughts raced through his head in a jumbled mess, not aiding his situation in the least.

He held his breath as the person shifted, placing his hand on Ed's chest.

"Your heart's beating rather fast. I wonder why. . .?" the person purred seductively.

Ed clenched his eyes shut. 'What do I do? I don't want him touching me, I don't want him touching me, I don't want this disgusting voice touching me!'

Then, to Ed's vast relief, the arms around him disappeared. He slowly opened his eyes.

The person had stood up and was entering the tub. Ed quickly adverted his eyes.

He heard the person, who he now was a hundred percent sure was the prince, chuckle.

"What's wrong? You're not shy, are you?" Following the statement, Ed heard the prince hiss and mutter something about the water being too hot.

Ed swallowed a lump in his throat and forced himself to look up.

"No need to be shy. Believe it or not, you're actually quite pretty. Very flat though."

Ed didn't know what he meant by 'very flat' but at the time, he didn't much care either.

"So, what's your name?" The prince had turned, and was now resting his arms on the side of the tub.

"E-Elric." Ed mentally chastised himself for stuttering.

"Elric. . .?" The prince made a prompting gesture.

"Edo. Elric Edo."

"Edo huh? That's. . .kinda cute." The prince nodded to himself. "Edo. Yeah, I like it."

"Thank you sir."

The prince made a humming sound that Ed assumed he was supposed to take as a 'your welcome.' "Well, I guess you should be getting to work, right?" The prince grinned.

Ed paled considerably. He opened his mouth, but once again, found his voice had abandoned him.

The prince, still grinning, raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

Judging from the look on his face, Ed was pretty sure he knew exactly what the problem was.

"Ah, I-" Ed bit his bottom lip. Deciding he couldn't trust his voice, he did the only thing he could and picked up the bottle of shampoo. His hand was shaking.

The prince, no doubt, saw this. Just as Ed was about to poor the contents of the bottle onto his hand, the prince took the bottle from his grip.

"Tell you what. As you've probably noticed, I'm a very nice, generous, likable guy. And since you're so pretty," He reached out and stoked Ed's cheek as he said this. "I'm going to let you just relax for a while. Sound good? I'll wash myself on my own," He emphasized this by pouring some of the shampoo into his palm. "And you can just. . .observe and keep me company.

Ed fidgeted slightly. He had a feeling the prince's 'generosity' was most likely going to have a price somewhere down the road, but what else could he do? He slowly nodded. "Thank you sir."

The prince gave him a cat-like grin. "My pleasure, Edo."

Ed forced a small smile. It was awful to hear his nickname said like that, in such a disgustingly seductive voice. He distantly thought of when Prince Roy had said his name and unconsciously decided the younger prince had the better voice of the two by a long shot.

The prince started washing his hair, not saying anything more. Ed had a feeling that the 'keep me company' part of the deal meant making conversation. He sighed. Well, he had to at least try.

"Uh, sir?"

The prince glanced over at him with a pleased look in his eyes. "Yes Edo?"

Ed looked down so the prince wouldn't see him cringe. "Well, my work. . .keeps me very isolated from the rest of the palace and the higher ups such as yourself and his highness, the king. . ."

"Go on."

"Ah, well, I never hear anything about anyone. Maybe you could tell me some things. . ."

Ed fiddled with a bolt on his right hand, making sure it stayed out of view. He really didn't care about the higher ups of the palace, and the prince didn't look like he cared to tell either, but that was all he could think of to say.

The pleased look on the prince's face seemed to die a bit. "Like what?"

"Um. . ." He tried to think. '_As you've probably noticed, I'm a very nice, generous, likable guy.'_ That's what the prince had said, he seemed to love himself quite a bit. . .

"Like, uh, what your name is, sir?"

The prince blinked at him. Edward guessed he had probably caught him off guard with the question.

"You don't know my name?"

Ed shook his head. "No sir. Nor do I know the king, my master's, name."

The prince's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that so?"

"Yes sir."

"Wouldn't one normally be more curious about their master than anyone else?"

"Yes sir, but I'm afraid I find myself more curious about you sir."

Ed felt disgusted with himself, feeding this man's ego like that, but nonetheless, it was the right thing to say. The prince grinned; his eyes holding a pleased look once more.

"Really?"

"Yes sir."

The prince chuckled and reached out of the tub. Ed stiffened as the prince placed his hand on the back of his head, then he felt something cascade down his back and shoulders.

The prince pulled his hand back, holding a tie and two chopsticks. "You look much more lovely with your hair down, did you know that?"

Ed was at a loss for words. "No sir. . .ah, thank you." The words weren't very heart-felt, not surprising since Ed, to his disgust, found himself a tad afraid of the man in front of him.

The prince reached out and stroked Ed's hair, causing the young slave to stiffen.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice.

"Well, if you must know. . .," He gently fingered the ends of Ed's hair. "My name is Kimbly. Prince Mustang Kimbly."

* * *

Ta-da! The mystery has been solved! The second prince, and Roy's brother, is Kimbly! Bet no one was expecting that, huh? I kinda surprised myself with the choice. lol. (incase you're all wondering, I'm thinking of just going with the whole 'one looks like the mother, the other looks like the father' theory.)  
I hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey minna-san! I'm soooooo sorry it took me so long to update! I had all these schools projects to do and I kept getting dragged to the mall (without any money to spend) and I just haven't had much time to write. -.- And yes, I'm making excuses. True excuses, but still, excuses.  
I think this whole story feels a bit rushed, especially this chapter. What do you all think?  
Big hug goes out to my best friend and beta, darkfairyofdoom!  
Hope you all enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Ed slumped against the edge of the bathtub and shakily wrapped his arms around himself.

Prince Kimbly had left just a few seconds ago, leaving Edward in the room alone, something he was all too grateful for.

For his whole life, he had, had plenty of people to be afraid of. And for a while, he _was_ afraid of most of them. But, as he grew older, the fear subsided. Other people in the world held power over lowly scum like him, that was a fact, and he'd come to accept it. But Prince Kimbly, Edward _had_ been afraid of him.

Needless to say, this unnerved him a bit.

He let out a deep breath and stood up, then turned around and pulled the drain out of the tub. As the water drained, he gathered up the soap and other supplies, then walked out of the room.

He was greeted by the beaming face of the maid. "There you are hon. Here, I'll take those." she walked over to him and plucked the objects out his arms, then turned around and headed back to the counter.

"That was probably your first time talking to the elder prince, wasn't it honey? Isn't he wonderful? Don't just stand there sweetie, come here. He has a wonderful sense of fashion too! Remember that shirt I showed you the other day? The red one. I knew _he_ would appreciate it."

Ed had walked over to the nurse and now stood behind her, listening to her ramble. He turned around and started to undress.

The nurse sighed. "If only the two princes could combine their traits. That would be lovely, don't you think so dear? Imagine, a man with the looks of Prince Roy and the taste of Prince Kimbly. And if you combined their charming personalities! Well, I'd have to say that would be the perfect man, wouldn't you? Whatever are you doing dear?"

The nurse had turned around and was now regarding Edward curiously. Ed stood, with his back turned to her, clad only in his boxers. He pressed the robe and belt against himself to conceal his chest, or in this case, lack of, and turned around to face her.

"Sweetheart, are you wearing boxers? That's a bit strange. . .Well, anyway, why on earth are you getting undressed? You don't plan on serving the young prince in the nude, do you? I understand he's handsome, but that seems a bit crude. . ."

Ed's cheeks flare. "He said I could wear my normal clothes, ma'am." he choked out, mentally willing his face to cool down.

"Oh honey! You don't have to do that! You don't want to wear those dreadful things, do you dear?"

"Ma'am, I-"

"Especially when you have the option of wearing such an elegant kimono as that. Foreign clothes aren't cheap you know. That's quite the outfit you're holding. Surely you'd rather wear that."

Ed blinked. Kimono? Any other time, he probably would have asked what a kimono was, but he knew he didn't have much time until Prince Roy would be there. "The prince said he would prefer my normal clothes, ma'am."

He couldn't remember if the prince had actually said this or not, but either way, it suited him.

The nurse groaned and turned around, rummaging through a cabinet. "Blast that man's taste. I swear. He's denying you the thrill of getting to wear such exotic clothes, more beautiful than you probably ever dreamed."

She found his clothes and pulled them free of the cabinet, then turned to face him. She handed him the outfit, fitting him with a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry dear. But look on the bright side, at least you get to wear beautiful outfits for the elder prince."

Ed took the clothes, still holding the robe tightly to himself with his free hand, and nodded, humoring her. He turned around and handed the robe to her, making sure she didn't see his chest. He then pulled on his shirt and shorts and turned back around. "May I have a hair band, ma'am?" he asked.

The nurse nodded solemnly and started digging through a box on the counter. "Why did you take the chopsticks out dear? I was meaning to ask you that."

"Prince Kimbly did, ma'am."

"Oh, I see. Well, nothing you can do about that. Sometimes even _his_ sense of fashion falters. Here you are hon."

"Thank you, ma'am." Ed took the band, which was a lot nicer than the rubber band he usually used, and put it on his wrist, then set about braiding his hair.

"You sure you don't want me to do your hair for you, sweetheart?"

"I'm sure." he paused, then added: "Thanks for offering though ma'am."

The nurse nodded and took in Ed's appearance as he braided with a solemn look on her face. Suddenly, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Hmm. . ."

Ed tied the end of his braid. "Is something wrong, ma'am?"

"I never noticed before but. . ."

"Yes?" he shifted, the nurse's gaze starting to make him nervous.

"Your arm is very. . .toned. Leg too."

Ed blinked. "Toned, ma'am?"

"Yes. Oh, how do I put it?" She tapped her foot in frustration. "Muscley."

Ed blinked again. "Muscley? Like, muscular, ma'am?"

"Yes, that's it! You're muscular. Not very becoming for a girl, especially one as young as you."

Ed decided the subject could do to be changed. "I should really get going, shouldn't I ma'am?"

"Oh right! Of course, of course. One moment sweetie." she gathered some things off the counter and out of the cabinets and handed them to him. "There you go dear, now run along."

Ed nodded, grateful to be leaving, and headed to the room he went in yesterday. He paused in front of the door. "This _is_ the right room, right ma'am?"

"Yes, dear. There's only two doors." she called back, not looking up from what she was doing.

Edward nodded, mostly to himself since the maid wasn't looking, and walked into the room. Once inside, he was once again struck by the similarities of the two bathing rooms. Utterly identical.

He shook his head. "I still think it's a waste, but I guess I can see Prince Roy's point. I wouldn't want to have to share anything with a guy like Prince Kimbly either."

He sat down and started the water, adjusting it to his tastes like always. He hugged his knees up to his chest and ran his flesh hand over his left leg. 'I wonder if the prince will be so put off by my limbs that he'll ask for someone else to take over. . .' he thought.

He sighed. "One can only hope." he muttered as he reached over and turned the water off.

As he waited, he pulled his braid over his shoulder and started fiddling with the ends, a habit that showed he was either nervous or impatient.

'**THUD'**

Ed gave a start at the sudden noise and looked toward the door, where he saw Prince Roy, once again clad in only a bath towel, leaning against the wood.

----------

Roy slammed the door shut and threw his back against it to make sure no one on the other side could get in.

"I'm going to fire that woman one of these days. . ."he muttered sourly. He waited a few seconds to make sure the maid wasn't going to burst in, then slowly peeled himself away from the door. He sighed, closing his eyes and massaging his temples.

Sensing someone's gaze on him he opened his eyes and looked up. He stared.

The slave girl, Edo was her name if he remembered correctly, stared back at him. Finally, the awkwardness seemed to get to her and she broke eye contact, then turned her head and stared at her lap.

Roy blinked then walked toward her. "Miss Elric?"

She visibly grimaced, but Roy paid no heed.

"Miss Elric, what happened to your limbs. . .?" he asked, the shock evident in his voice.

The girl looked up at him. "Nothing sir."

Roy knelt down next to her. "Nothing? Miss Elric-"

The girl surprised him and cut him off. "Please sir, may I ask that you call me Edo? Miss Elric makes me. . .uncomfortable."

Roy nodded hastily. "Miss Edo"-the girl cringed-"this is automail, isn't it?" he asked, reaching over and grabbing her right hand.

"Yes sir."

He ran his fingers over the cold steel, turning her hand over to examine the palm. "How can you say this is nothing? This is very serious Miss Edo."

"Please sir. I've had automail since I was six years old. It's nothing."

Roy broke his gaze away from the automail and stared at the girl. "That's. . .impossible. Just yesterday, you-" he halted mid-sentence as the girl took her hand from his grip and placed it on her lap, placing her left hand on top. He stared at her hands folded in her lap, silently cursing himself for being so ignorant.

"But still, grown men have been said to go insane from the operation. There's no way a 6-year-old girl could. . ."

The girl coughed and looked away. "As I said sir, it's nothing. Please don't worry about me."

Roy ignored her and sat down crossed-legged next to her, making sure his towel was still covering all the right places for her sake.

The girl looked a little downcast. "Sir, the bath water will get-

"That's alright. I can take a bath anytime. Right now, I'm more interested in you."

The girl's cheeks turned pink. "I appreciate your concern sir, but I'm fine, really. If you find my limbs displeasing, I'll happily accept all punishments and be dismissed."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Why would I punish you for having automail limbs?"

The girl blinked at him. Once, twice, thrice.

". . .That's never happened before, right?"

". . .No sir."

Roy frowned. Her answer wasn't all that convincing.

"Could you tell me how you lost your limbs?" he asked.

The girl fidgeted. "Yes sir." she said, a bit quietly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I understand."

The girl blinked again. "You're. . .giving me a choice sir?"

"Of course."

". . ."

Roy made a prompting gesture with his hands.

"I'd. . .prefer not to sir. But, I'll-

"Alright then, you don't have to tell me." Roy said, cutting her off. "But I have to say, I am. . .impressed. Those who get through the surgery all right are usually never able to adapt. You seem to be pretty content though. Or, am I misjudging?"

The girl shook her head, her face held a bit of a dazed look. Roy figured she probably didn't expect his interest.

"Someone told me once that you can adapt to things more easily when you're young. I don't think that's true for all situations, but perhaps it's what happened here sir." she said.

Roy nodded. "I suppose so."

This statement was followed by an awkward pause. Edo shifted. "Your bath sir. . ."

Roy sighed. "The water's probably cold by now."

"I could run you a new one. . ."

"Look, I already told you. I can get a bath anytime. It's no big deal."

"Yes sir." she said hastily.

Roy blinked. "You don't have to be so tense. I'm sorry if I came off harsh, I didn't mean to be."

"Of course not sir."

"You don't have to call me sir you know. It kind of makes me feel old." he said, running a hand through his hair. He was having a difficult time making conversation with Edo, but still, something about her intrigued him. Something was also a bit off about her. . .

"Yes your highness."

Roy groaned. "Fine, have it your way. And here I thought you looked like the kind of person that enjoyed being casual."

His statement was met with a wordless stare. He sighed in defeat.

"So. . ." His looked around for something to talk about. Finally, his eyes landed on the girl's flesh arm. _That_ was bugging him a bit. He could just ask her. . .

"Edo?"

She perked up a bit; Roy guessed she had been thinking or daydreaming during his silence.

"Yes sir?"

"You seem to have a pretty muscular figure. Is that from working?"

". . .Yes sir."

"But still, for a woman to have muscles like that. . ."

She shifted uncomfortably.

After he had gotten over the shock of seeing her arm and leg, Roy had quickly noticed how well toned Edo was. No other female slave he had seen looked like that. He had his suspicions, but he would have to take a chance to see if they were correct.

Roy reached forward and grabbed the end of Edo's shirt, then yanked it up. "I thought so."

Edo made a squeaking sound and fell back, wrenching his shirt back down. "E-Ecchi!"

"I had a feeling you were a boy." Roy said, nodding to himself and ignoring the insult. This changed things quite a bit.

Roy's deduction was rewarded by a sideshow of emotions from Edo. First, he simply stared, his face beat red. That didn't last long, as he quickly replaced the expression with one that looked slightly peeved. His face was still red. Then, almost all the color drained from his face, making him look as white as a ghost, and he regarded Roy with wide, terrified eyes.

This last expression worried Roy a bit.

"Edo. . .are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm sorry sir."

"What? Look, there's nothing to be-

"I'm sorry sir, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Roy had originally thought the whole situation was a bit humorous. Sure, he was a bit disappointed. Edo _had_ been a very lovely girl after all, and now Roy was pretty sure his kindness and attempts to woo her had been for nothing, considering 'she' was actually a 'he.' But overall, it had been fun to blow the boy's cover and embarrass him a little. It had only been a joke, harmless, yet the reaction he was getting was hardly what he expected.

"Please sir, I mean your highness! Please your highness, I didn't—that is, I—I really didn't—"

He rambled on, not saying anything that made sense. Finally, he seemed to realize he wasn't getting anywhere in his attempts to talk, and he bent down on his hands and knees, pressing his forehead to the floor. Roy was hit with a sense of deja vu from his last encounter with Edo.

"Get up." Roy said, grabbing Edo's shoulders and forcing him off the floor. "You're not going to be punished. I'm not angry."

Edo looked up at him and Roy found himself again immersed in deep pools of liquid gold.

His hands still holding Edo's shoulders, Roy leaned forward, transfixed by those eyes.

He snapped out of it when Edo started wiggling around, trying to get out of Roy's grip. Roy let go and Edo fell back, holding himself up with his hands. He quickly scrambled into a sitting position, staring at Roy uncertainly. Roy noticed he was shaking slightly.

"Prince Roy. . ."

Roy remained silent, waiting for him to finish.

". . .I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

Roy found himself staring at Edo's eyes again, watching the flames of emotion dancing beneath the surface.

"I lied to you, your highness. Yet you don't wish to punish me. . ."

Roy rubbed his temple. "Technically, you didn't lie to me."

Edo blinked. "My gender sir. . ."

"Yes, you never _said_ you were a girl. I just assumed. You are rather feminine after all."

Edo's face went red, from embarrassment or anger Roy wasn't sure. Perhaps it was both.

Edo coughed. "Yes sir, but still. . ."

Roy gave him an exasperated look. "Do you _want_ me to punish you?"

Edo hastily shook his head. "No sir. I mean your highness. That's not what I meant at all, it's just. . ."

"No, it clearly sounds like you want to be punished." Roy closed his eyes and cupped his chin, nodding to himself. "It would only be fair for me to grant your wish."

Edo stared at him then slowly lowered his gaze to his lap. "Yes your highness. . ." he whispered quietly.

"As punishment, I, Prince Roy, have decided not to relieve you from your duties here. You'll continue to draw my baths for me." He then stood up and turned around, heading toward the door.

Edo looked up at him wide-eyed. "Sir. . .I mean, your highness. I–" He bit his bottom lip and clenched his hands into fists on his lap. ". . .Thank you."

Roy looked over his shoulder at him and smirked. "If you'll excuse me Edo, I have work to do. Busy life, being a prince you know." With that said, he turned back around and walked out the door.

----------

Ed was left sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at the doorway where Prince Roy had previously been.

After a minute or two, he hesitantly stood up. He stepped over to the tub and pulled the drain out. He watched the water swirl away, his mind reeling with bewilderment.

He had gotten off, scotch free. He had _lied_ to the prince, and gotten off without so much as a slap to the wrist.

Ed gathered the unused towel and soap off the ground and headed toward the door.

All he had to do was keep drawing the baths. He wasn't sure WHY Prince Roy would want him, a guy, to keep the job, but it suited him just fine. Sure, he didn't like the job, but it was still better than some of the alternatives. Well, for Prince Roy at least. As for Prince Kimbly, Ed wasn't as sure. He was already starting to think it might be better to get tortured than keep drawing his bathes. Prince Kimbly was strange, and he admitted, frightening. Never before had someone made him consider there being worse things than death.

Prince Roy on the other hand. . .

Ed walked out of the room and walked toward the maid at the counter.

The maid, hearing the clank of his automail against the floor, looked up. She seemed a little peeved.

Edward handed the supplies to her wordlessly. She snatched them up and started putting them away harshly.

They remained silent for a moment before the maid let out a cry of frustration and slammed a cabinet shut, making Edward jump slightly.

"I just can't believe him!"

The maid whirled around and faced Ed. He blinked.

"Can you? Of course not! I knew you'd agree. Sometimes I wonder just what goes through that man's mind! I mean, for God's sake!"

She threw her hands up. "Tonight, he says! Well, that's just peachy, isn't it? Hmph. Well, he had better not come crying to me later that everyone in the palace thinks he reeks. Goodness! And if he wasn't taking a bath, what was he doing in there all that time? Teaching you to tango?"

Ed blinked again, not quite sure whether he was supposed to answer or not. Finally, he said what he thought would be the safest. "Ma'am, what's a tango?"

The maid sighed, calming down. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "It's a dance dear."

"Oh. . ."

The maid opened her eyes and took her hands away from her temples, opting to pinch the bridge of her nose instead. She regarded Edward. "Please tell me sweetheart, what _was_ he doing in there?"

"Talking." he answered bluntly.

The maid took her hands away from her face and furrowed her eyebrows together. "Talking? To you?"

"Yes ma'am."

She raised an eyebrow. "About what honey?"

Edward held out his metal hand.

"Oh, I see. Was he displeased?"

"No, ma'am, he–"

"What am I saying? Of COURSE he was displeased. How could he NOT be displeased? Oh, you poor dear." She enveloped him in a hug.

Ed wiggled a bit. "Actually ma'am–"

"I hope he wasn't too hard on you." She gasped and, much to Ed's relief, stopped hugging him so she could look him in the face. "He didn't dismiss you from the job did he? Oh, honey!" She hugged him again, this time more tightly, pressing Ed's face to her chest. "But you're so sweet! And I was becoming so attached to you too! Can't he see it's what's on the inside that counts! Poor dear!"

Ed mumbled something.

The maid sniffed, she seemed to be holding back tears. "What was that dear?"

"I can't breathe. . ." Ed mumbled, a little louder this time.

"Oh! I'm sorry dear!" She let go of him.

Ed took a deep breath, then looked up at the maid. "He didn't punish me ma'am."

She blinked twice. "He. . .didn't?"

"No ma'am, I'm to return here tomorr–" He was cut of as the maid pulled him into another bear hug.

"Oh honey! What a relief!"

Ed squirmed around in her grip, frantically trying to get loose and muttering illegible things.

"And her I was, all worried for nothing! This is the best news I've heard all day! Granted, it _is_ still pretty early in the morning and I haven't had much chance to hear anything at all, but still! That's besides the point! Is something the matter dear?" She loosened her grip on him and he reeled back, gasping for breath.

She smiled, not seeming to notice his state of breathlessness. "So you were really just talking about automail? All that time? My, I never knew the young prince had such a fascination! How peculiar. . .hmm, well, I suggest you better be running along sweetie. You have other work to do, don't you?"

Ed looked at her, astonished at her sudden change in demeanor, and slowly nodded.

"Well, then, don't just stand there. We can't just gad all day. Go on, skedaddle." She gripped his shoulders and turned him toward the door, then gently pushed him toward it.

Edward walked toward the door, glancing quickly over his shoulder at the maid. She had already gone back to work, cleaning up the counter. Ed guessed she would probably leave for other duties soon.

He walked down the hall at a brisk pace. He could see the sun through the windows, and judging from its position, he would get to laundry room within time. He had gotten out of the bathing room a little early, since Prince Roy hadn't bathed. As long as he kept a swift pace, he should get there in time.

----------

While Ed was hurrying his way the laundry room, his little brother was heading outside to go to work in the garden, the duty he minded the least. Sure, pulling weeds was a pain and it was a little annoying when he was done and his hands were covered in dirt that he wasn't aloud to wash off. . .

But, it was still kinda fun. He liked plants.

There were a few gardens around the palace, they were all vegetable gardens except one. Aru had been lucky enough to be assigned to care for the one flowerbed.

He reached the small garden and smiled, sitting down next to the patch of dirt. "Good morning flowers."

He went to work weeding, occasionally talking to the flowers and telling them about his day yesterday and anything else he felt like talking about.

"Hey slave! Who are you talking to?"

Aru jumped in surprise, falling backwards and knocking over the watering jug he had with him, wetting his clothes.

The guard who had spoken laughed, as did his companion.

"I swear Jim, where would we be without slaves like that?"

"Six feet under, that's where. I can see it now, 'Here rests Joe, a faithful guard to his kingdom till the last. Brave, strong and loyal. Died of boredom.'"

They both started laughing again.

Aru pouted and wrung his shirt out. He eyed the now empty watering jug and sighed. 'Well, like mom always said, "no use crying over spilt milk," I'll just have to get more from the well when I'm done weeding.' he thought.

The guards were walking away now, though Aru could still hear them talking.

"So, who do you think he really was talking to?"

"Beats me. Probably the flowers."

They started laughing.

"Mama must've told him it helps 'em grow!"

"If he's ever even met his Mama!"

Their laughter started to die down. Jim scratched his nose and looked at Joe. "Hey Joe, why is there a flower garden here anyway? Seems kinda girly. . ."

"Queen Mustang put it in, I believe. I heard the King wants to get rid of it now that she's dead but one of the princes threw a fit when he mentioned destroying it."

"Oh yeah? Which of the princes was it?"

Aru didn't hear anymore as the guards' voices faded away. He turned around and watched their retreating figures.

He picked up the watering jug, deciding to just go and get the water now rather than later.

He walked a way to the well and set the watering jug down on the ground, then lowered a bucket down the well.

"What are you doing boy?"

Aru jumped once again, letting go of the bucket. It flew down the well, hitting the water with a loud splash.

"I'm getting water for the flowers sir." he said hastily.

The guard regarded him for a second, then slowly nodded. "Fine, but don't you dare take more than necessary. Understood? Water's precious these days."

Aru nodded. "Of course sir. Understood sir."

"Good, now get back to work." That said, the guard walked away muttering to himself about those 'damn bratty slaves.'

Aru sighed heavily. One after another. Why did the guards always have to sneak up on him like that? Always popping up out of nowhere. . .

He looked down the well, trying to see the bucket. He grabbed the rope and started pulling it up.

'I hope it didn't hit the sides of the well and break when it fell. . .' he thought worriedly.

The bucket reached the top and, to Aru's relief, it was unscathed.

The pulled the bucket out of the well and started pouring the water into the watering jug, being cautious not to spill any.

"Meow."

Aru looked down at the soft noise and saw a small yellow kitten.

He smiled and put the bucket down. "Hello there Koneko-chan. What's a little kitten like you doing in a place like this?"

"Meow." The kitten tilted its head to one side.

Aru internally melted at the cute gesture. 'Kawaii!'

The kitten blinked and meowed again.

"You shouldn't be here Koneko-chan, who knows what the guards will do to you if they spot you. Don't you have a home?"

The kitten walked over to him and started rubbing against him, purring.

Aru smiled. "I guess not. I doubt many people have pets nowadays, huh? But still, it's not safe here. . ." He snapped his fingers. "I got it! You're just thirsty, right? That must be it." He looked down at the bucket. It was almost empty now, the water was far to low for a tiny kitten to reach without getting drenched. . .

He dunked his hands into the bucket, putting them together to serve as a cup for the kitten. He took his hands out, his palms now carrying some of the water and offered it to the kitten, who happily lapped up the water.

He smiled. "That's better, isn't Koneko-chan?"

Once the kitten was finished, Aru dried his hands on his shirt and filled the rest of the watering jug. He stood and picked it up, then glanced down at the kitten. "Well, I have to go now Koneko-chan. You should be going to. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye!" He smiled at the kitten, then walked back to the flower garden.

He set down the watering jug then sat down and resumed weeding once more, humming a happy tune to himself.

"Meow."

He blinked and looked down. "Koneko-chan? What are you still doing here? I though I told you it's dangerous here."

"Meow." It rubbed against him and started purring again.

He picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck and tried his best to look angry. "Koneko-chan, you can't-"

It licked him on the nose and meowed.

Aru couldn't help but smile. He chuckled and set the kitten down. "Fine, have it your way. But if your going to be keeping me company, you should at least have a name. Koneko-chan isn't a very good name after all."

The kitten stared at him as Aru put his hand on his chin. It licked its paw and started to clean itself.

Aru stared at the kitten, then picked it up again, interrupting its bath. "I think I'll call you Mame-chan. Is that okay with you?"

"Meow."

He smiled and set the kitten down beside him. "Mame-chan it is then." he said as he set back to work weeding.

The kitten watched, occasionally batting at the weeds he pulled out.

"Don't tell him this, but I actually named you Mame-chan cause you remind me of Nii-san. Your fur is really similar to his hair color." He paused. "Though. . . I suppose that means it's also similar to my hair color. . . I never thought about that. Hmm." He shrugged and resumed weeding, ignoring the curious look Mame-chan was giving him. "It isn't just that though. Nii-san does kind of remind me of a cat. In the way he acts, you know?" He gave the kitten a smile. "Plus, you're short like Nii-san too."

Aru laughed as the kitten started playing with one of the longer weeds, ignoring his words.

After a while, Aru finally finished the garden. He put the watering jug away and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Looks like I finished just in time, ne Mame-chan?" he asked, looking at the gray storm clouds overhead.

He started toward the door leading inside from the garden when he felt something wet hit his nose. He looked up and got hit between the eyes with another drop. He ran to the door as it suddenly started to downpour, Mame-chan close on his heels. He got to the door, then stood in the doorway uncertainly.

"Mame-chan. . .you can't. . ."

He bit his lip and stared at the poor little kitten, already soaked and looking as pitiful as ever. It shivered.

Aru groaned and opened the door. "I'm sure no one will mind. Just make sure you stay out of sight, okay? I don't want the guards finding you."

Mame-chan scurried inside and quickly ran off the find someplace inside to dry off and get warm.

Aru smiled as he watched the kitten disappear into another room. He walked down the hallway, heading toward the kitchen for his next shift. He sighed.

'I hope Nii-san doesn't find out that I let a kitten into the palace. . .or worse, that I named it Mame-chan after him.'

* * *

**Translations:  
**Ecchi- pervert (mild)  
Kawaii- cute  
Mame- bean  
Koneko- kitten

Bean cat. XD lol. Poor Edo, I'm always poking fun at the characters I love the most.  
Well, I hope you all liked this chappie:) Send me a review and give me your opinion on it, okay?


End file.
